Page 15 of Naked

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I rodeover to the stadium with Hunter even though it was hours until the afternoon game. I enjoyed roaming empty stadiums before the garbage piled up and the walkways filled with people.

Also, the bathrooms were at their cleanest.

I grabbed a beer—wondering if the way the man serving my beer smiled at me was flirting or not—and took my seat in the shade to watch warmups. It was a fairly boring process with players on and off the field. Lots of stretching. But I picked Hunter out of the crowd quickly. He laughed and joked with several of his teammates, always bouncing and moving, even when he was stretching.

He looked good in Mantas blue, not to mention his uniform somehow managed to accentuate his high performance body more than the rest of the team. His ass should be illegal.

There. I said it.

I was halfway through my beer when a stadium employee walked past on what appeared to be a final inspection before the gates opened. He stopped and smiled. “Are you a Mantas WAG?”

WAG was shorthand for Wives And Girlfriends. “Uh, just a friend.”

I noticed he settled in against the handrail and smiled wider. Normally I’d dismiss this action as someone bored and looking to chat, but today, with Hunter’s Sexy Filter on, I had to question my assumption. The man wore a Seattle polo and black slacks. He was clean shaven, his dark hair was styled close to his scalp, and he had the best dimple in his dark skin. He was, in short, very handsome. And he was still smiling at me.

“Must be a good friend to be here so early.” His eyes examined me.

No, notexamined.Theyappreciatedme.

Holy crap! He was flirting with me! “Uh, yeah. My best friend plays shortstop.”

His eyebrow rose over his right eye. “Best friend? I never could be friends with women.” He ran a finger over his lower lip.

Definitely flirting. Part of me wanted to dismiss him and end it, but part of me was curious. How often did this happen without my noticing? What did it feel like to be coveted?

“Maybe you just haven’t tried hard enough.” I smiled back and relaxed my posture.

His eyes followed my every move. My skin tingled with awareness. I wasn’t attracted to him the way I was attracted to Hunter, but he was handsome and I liked having his attention. “Or maybe I just appreciate the beauty of being with a woman...as a woman.”

“Smooth.”

He grinned. “My name is Lucas.” He stuck out his hand.

I stared at it for a moment, then shook it. “Tilley.”

“I don’t know that I’ve ever met a Tilley.” He held my hand gently but firmly, giving it a squeeze before letting me go.

“It’s a family name. Same as my great-grandmother.”

“Lucas is also a family name. Lucas Rayburn Montgomery IV.”

“Wow. The fourth? How does it feel to have the same name as three men before you?”

He shrugged, flirted some more with his eyes. “Important. I’m part of a long line of proud, successful men. And we all go by a different nickname.”

I took a brief pause fromflirtingto ponder whether the origin of nicknames came from men having the same name and needing alternative means of original identity. “And what’s yours?”

“Ray Ray. My momma says it’s because I’m a ray of sunshine.”

His smile certainly was. “I can see that.”

“Can I get you anything? Buy you a drink?”

I glanced down at my half full plastic cup. “Maybe another time.”

He stood up tall. “Well Tilley, I’ll be around if you change your mind. If you need anything, just tell the attendants you need Lucas, not Ray Ray.” Then he winked and sauntered up the last few stairs to the main level.

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